C477 Thirtysixth Totempole
As Yu Yuan grappled with a headache, an icy chill suddenly welled up from the depths of his heart. A nameless trepidation enveloped him like the frigid waters of a hidden pond, casting a shroud over his being. As he amassed Sunsorrow from the giant beast, he was taken aback, scanning his surroundings in silent astonishment. He needed to understand what had changed around him to cause such palpitations and unease.
With his Third Eye wide open, his perception intensified manifold. His mind became exceptionally clear, allowing him to discern the subtlest shifts and swiftly unravel complex issues. His gaze briefly swept over the Abyssal Leviathan before snapping back with intensity.
The Bone-Devouring Shuttle, which had pierced through the Abyssal Leviathan's crown and embedded itself into the spine of the giant beast, had vanished from sight. The sharp tip of the Flying Shuttle and the White Bone at its tail seemed to have fully integrated into the Abyssal Leviathan's corporeal body.
The emaciated elder, sitting still as a wasp nest, radiated beams of light and electric snakes that had previously darted about chaotically. Suddenly, they ceased their erratic flight, snapping back into his body with the same abruptness.
The Abyssal Leviathan, which had been roaring moments before, now fell silent.
"Go!" The cauldron spirit's bellow thundered through Yu Yuan's soul sea and Heart Lake, causing his three souls to tremble violently. A sense of dire peril emanated from the Abyssal Leviathan, making Yu Yuan, who was in close proximity, sense the immense danger of merely being near it.
Without a moment's hesitation, he ceased the frenetic spinning of the Evil Body Refining technique and abandoned his attempts to draw out more Sunsorrow from the giant beast. Instead, he steered the Crucible of Evil and soared away.
"Crack! Crack!" The sound of bones being tempered and reforged echoed from the body of the Abyssal Leviathan. In an instant, the Bone-Devouring Shuttle was slowly extracted from the skull by a withered hand.
The Abyssal Leviathan's eyes snapped open—one a deep scarlet, the other a luminous white. A low chuckle escaped him, tinged with excitement and a cruel, bloodthirsty glee. "The ancient evilkind that once suppressed me... You have shattered one of the thirty-six totem-poles of the Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons within my body. In that moment, the Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons was declared broken."
He raised his head to watch Yu Yuan flee recklessly into the distance, his smile growing increasingly sinister.
"After the break, I refined the remaining thirty-five totem-poles embedded in my spine into weapons at my command."
"Such a shame, though, that because you destroyed one, the thirty-five left can no longer form the Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons."
"There's only a difference of one between thirty-five and thirty-six, but it's enough to prevent the formation from being complete."
"Hehe, kid, you've been quite generous to me. You've provided exactly what I was missing! This Bone-Devouring Shuttle you brought, crafted from an archdemon's skeleton, has been re-smelted by me to become the thirty-sixth totem-pole."
"At last, the Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons can be manifested under my control."
The Abyssal Leviathan's smile was a twisted sneer.
One by one, thirty-five totem-poles shot out from his gaunt back.
Arrayed within the Spawn of Chaos, the thirty-five towering stone columns stood like mighty pillars, each one plunging into the seabed of the Embers Sea under the Abyssal Leviathan's command.
The Bone-Devouring Shuttle in his palm, shimmering with vibrant arc light, underwent a miraculous transformation, cleansed and tempered by the Sunsorrow essence of the giant beast he had been condensing for millennia.
The white bone Flying Shuttle expanded, its corporeal body etched with ancient demonic script by his vital energy, and thus became the thirty-sixth totem-pole!
Whoosh!
With the Abyssal Leviathan's wild laughter echoing, the thirty-sixth totem-pole soared from his grasp, firmly rooting itself into the seabed.
In a flash, the heavens and earth transformed, stars shifted, and the sun and moon hung suspended!
A fierce sun and a cold crescent moon simultaneously emerged within the Spawn of Chaos.
"Ah!"
Yu Yuan's complexion drained of color as he stared at the sky, struck dumb.
He realized it wasn't the sun and moon that were hanging there, but the true form of the Abyssal Leviathan revealing itself!
The celestial bodies in the sky were the eyes of the Abyssal Leviathan, now visible after its true form had been unveiled!
"Crack!"
The Azure Veil, hovering above the Spawn of Chaos, emitted a brittle sound, strained as if a massive net was being stretched to its breaking point by an enormous catch.
"Oh my God!" Yan Lu cried out in alarm, "Quick, look! What is that?!"
All eyes were immediately drawn to the Spawn of Chaos, where within the deep blue shadows, a colossal figure was slowly unfurling from a coiled position, growing larger by the moment.
At the very top of the Spawn of Chaos, where it met the Azure Veil, a fin as sharp as a sword had torn through, stabbing towards the sea's surface.
The fin, like a row of swords, was incomparably sharp, as if it could pierce the heavens themselves!
The Azure Veil, which had kept the sea's surface and depths apart and had withstood all attempts of penetration, even by heavenly-grade artifacts, now seemed as fragile as tissue paper against the piercing fin.
It was breached in an instant!
The vast expanse of the Spawn of Chaos could no longer conceal the emerging giant beast.
A fish head with rows of serrated teeth and a spiky tail burst forth from either end of the Spawn of Chaos.
"That fish, the one that's been following Yu Yuan! It's that fish! I recognize it!"
A youth from the Ruby Hand stood petrified, watching the Abyssal Leviathan inside the Spawn of Chaos grow larger, stretching the Azure Veil, and let out a hysterical scream.
"The Abyssal Leviathan! How is this possible? How can it fully manifest itself?"
Mo Yan, perched atop the Devil Blade, turned ashen as the situation took a sudden turn. Overwhelmed by panic and shock, he was at a loss for what to do next.
"Release the Blood Altar, and don't hold back Lin Zhuyun any longer!"
Yu Yuan's roar thundered from within the Spawn of Chaos, "The Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons has been unleashed, dramatically increasing its power. It can now reveal the true form of the giant beast! From this moment on, the Blood Altar of the Embers Sea will be its target! We must focus on escaping this cataclysm!"
Trapped within the Spawn of Chaos, the people could only issue warnings.
Mo Yan was taken aback for a moment before angrily exclaiming, "Look what you've done!"
Despite his rebuke, he sprang into action, steering the Shadowblade away. As he did, he didn't forget to bellow, "Hou Tianzhao, retract the Phoenix Feather Fan!"
"Oh! Right!"
Hou Tianzhao, his mind in a fog, unsure of what to do, instinctively complied.
The Phoenix Feather Fan, which had previously consumed Lin Zhuyun in flames, now flew back towards him.
Lin Zhuyun, ablaze and unconcerned with anything else, made a beeline for the Blood Altar.
With Mo Yan no longer restraining it, the Blood Altar, once submerged in a seabed chasm, rose to the surface again.
En route to the Spawn of Chaos, Lin Zhuyun, enveloped in emerald flames, appeared abruptly above the Blood Altar.
"Snap!"
The Azure Veil, which had enshrouded the Embers Sea, was torn asunder like a giant net by an immense fish.
At the sea's surface, a dazzling blue light curtain surged upward like a hillock, shimmering and splintering.
The Python Queen, Xu Zixi, ascended to the skies once more, only to witness an expanse of ocean, with invisible blue glows shattering in all directions.
It was as if a series of azure mirrors were bursting in succession.
The fragmented blue pieces soared towards the area where the giant creature was emerging from the depths, seemingly converging their force to assault the anomaly ascending from the seabed.
"A fin! Such an enormous fin, could it belong to a colossal archdemon from the ocean's depths?"
Xu Zixi was still trying to make sense of it all when she gazed in that direction.
"It's a cosmic giant beast known as the Abyssal Leviathan."
Nearby, Liu Ying, who had harnessed the power of the Fallen Star Eyes through the Azure Veil, caught sight of Xu Zixi as the wall dissipated. She offered an explanation to the bewildered Xu Zixi.
"A cosmic giant beast!" Xu Zixi's complexion drained as shock took hold.